Love in the Making

How adoreable is the cover of this book? During the time I was reading it I was craving cupcakes every day. So if you are on a diet maybe this is not the book for you!

Hannah is due to celebrate the openening of her little shop 'Cupcakes on the Corner' on the same evening that her boyfriend tells her their relationship is over and he is moving out. This is how the book begins and I was pulled into Hannahs world right from the beginning. But this book is not just about Hannah. It is about the lives and loves of many of the pople living in the little town with the yellow cupcake shop. This story is lovely, sometimes sad but always hopeful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the first book I have read by Roisin Meaney and I really hope it will not be the last. 

Welcome To My World

I recently read this book by Miranda Dickinson. It tells the story of Harri who works as a travel agent but has never been outside of the UK. She dreams of a life full of travel and excitement with her true love(romantic Venice is her ideal destination) but in reality her life is quite lonely and boring. Her boyfriend is obesessed with work  and the highlight of her week is when she meets her friend Alex to hear all about his travels. The book is filled with lovely characters and Harri herself is someone I really warmed to. The village of Stone Yardley where Harri lives sounds idyllic. It was really nice to read a book set in England for a change (usually the books I read are set in Ireland as there are many chick lit writers here!)

A little suspense is added to the book as each chapter begins with a short aside where Harri is locked in a toilet cubicle extermely upset. Therefore while reading the book we are curious as to how she got into that situation and if she will ever achieve her dream.

This is a lovely enjoyable book, the story unravels well and I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice easy read.

November Secret Post Club

This month I recieved a wonderful gift from Lise as part of the Secret Post Club. Lise noticed from reading my blog that I like tea and she is certainly correct. I recieved an absoutley lovely tea cosy, some loose tea from the Royal Air Force and a tea strainer.

I sampled the tea this morning and it was really lovely. It was such a nice surprise to recieve this in the post and the tea cosy has pride of place in my kitchen now. Thanks Lise xx

A Vegetable Tagine

Yesterday morning when I opened the curtains the ground was covered by a blanket of white snow. It was the perfect day to stay indoors and cook up a warming vegetable tagine.

I chopped 2 red onions, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 butternut squash and 2 peppers into small pieces. I also grated 2 carrots. I then sauted the onions over a low heat for 5 minutes before adding the garlic and continued to saute for a further 5 minutes. I then added the grated carrots & cooked for 5 minutes before adding the chopped peppers and squash and cooked for a further 5 minutes. It was them time to add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 1 tin of chickpeas, a little salt and pepper plus some cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cinammon and lots of chilli powder(I like it nice and spicy!). I then covered and left to cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.  I seved with brown price and garnished with some chopped parsley.

This made a huge pot of tagine (enough for 6 people). I thought it was really yummy and also very healthy. It took quite a while to prepare and make this dish & the butternut squash was quite difficult to chop but I have plenty left over which I will freeze and appreciate again soon.

Nothing to Envy

I recently read 'Nothing to Envy Real Lives in North Korea' by Barbara Demick and really enjoyed it so I thought I would write a little review.

This book tells the story of real people from North Korea . It is very interesting because we know so little about this country and the book provides insight into what life is like for ordinary people there. When reading the book I learned so much about Korea but it was told like a story so I did not feel like I was reading a book about politics/history. It is so easy to get lost in the story of the characters that you have to remind yourself that it is not a work of fiction, the sad reality is that this is real life for so many people. It is hard to understand that in our modern world with internet, mobile phones etc there is a place where time stands still and the people struggle so much just to survive. If you have ever thought you would like to know more about North Korea I would highly recommend this book as it provides so much insight into a place that I cannot believe still exists in our world.